The present invention generally relates to the field of contaminate reduction in seminal fluid, and more particularly to a process to reduce or eliminate pathogenic contamination in seminal fluid.
A great risk exists concerning transmission of pathogenic agents in biological samples. Effective processes to reduce or eliminate contamination (herein after “decontamination”) in biological samples have generally been developed for embryos. The embryo has an outer layer, called the zona pellucida, which is impenetrable to a variety of pathogenic agents; however, it is still possible to transmit disease by pathogens adhering to the surface of the zona pellucida. Because of the relatively large size of embryos and oocytes (typically on the order of 100 micrometers in diameter), they can be handled individually and treated (or “dipped”) in a decontamination solution (e.g., containing a low concentration of a proteolytic enzyme such as trypsin) which effectively inactivates many infectious agents. Trypsin treatment is harsh and can irreversibly damage embryos if overexposed.
Sperm, on the other hand, cannot be handled individually (the diameter of sperm heads typically are less than 5 micrometers) so it has not been possible to treat sperm by a brief exposure of typsin treatment without causing damage.
For the forgoing reasons, there is a need for a process that decontaminates seminal fluid of both bacteria and viruses, which may allow the reduction or elimination of pathogenic agents from a biological sample, such as seminal fluid.